Improvement in knitting-machines



. and throughrwhich it runs.

UNITED i:frrrrEs CORNELL@` E. PEAsE,-or B RocKPoE'r, NEW YORK, ADMINISTEATEIX orv HENRY PEAsE, DEcEAsED.

IMPROVEMENT IN KNlTTlNG-MACHINES.

Specilication forming part of Letters Patent No. I56,376, dated October 27, 1874,' application filed August 14, 1874.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that HENRY PEASE, formerly of Brockport, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, but now deceased, did invent certain new and useful Improvements in Knitting-Machines; and I, CoRNELIA E. PEASE, of Brockport aforesaid, administratrix of the estate of the said HENRY PEAsE, do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation ofthe same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a plan, Fig. 2, a side elevation. Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 are detail views.

' This machine is intended .for knitting work of a double thickness, and in alternate stripes of different colors, for mittens, Snc.; and the invention consistsin the combination and arrangement of the parts constituting themachine, as hereinafter described.

In the drawings, A represents the frame cf the machine, which may beclamped or attached to a supporting-leaf by means of setscrews a a, as shown in Fig. 2. B B are two needle frames or cylinders, arranged one within the other, and leaving an annular spa'ce, b, between them, in which the fabric is formed The needles run in grooves c c of the cylinders, as usual, and in themselves are of ordinary construction, with the exception that theyvare alternately of different lengths, as will presently be described. The` grooved part of the cylinders, in which the needles run, may be made in-segments, being shown in the drawings as a halfcircle, extending from x to x, the balance of the circle being simply a rim at the bottom to form a connectionaround and to serve as a hand-hold in operating the cylinders. If desired, a hand-wheel similar to those used on carbrakes may be used at the bottom for operatin g the machine. The needle-cylinders turn on a shaft, J, passing through the post or standard G, and are simply reciprocated alternately in one direction and the other, as indicated by the reverse arrows, Fig. l, and do not receive a continuous rotary motion, as in ordinary knittingmachines. d d1 are the ncedles of the outer cylinder, and d2 d3 the correspondin g needles of the inner cylinder. These needles run respectively in the grooves in the outer and inner peripheries of the cylinders, thereby leaving the space b fre-e for the passage of the work after it is formed. Each set of needles is made alternately long and short, d and d2 being the short needles and d1 and d3 the long ones. Every altern atc groove of each cylinder therefore has a short needle, and every intermediate one a long needle. Furthermore, the short needles in one cylinder stand opposite the long ones of the other cylinder, for the purpose presently to be described. The alternation of the needles is clearly shown in the diagram, Fig. 4, in which the shoulders f f indicate the working length of the needles. D D1 and D2 D3 are sliding blocks or heads., which carry the cams E E, on which the shoulders ff of the needles strike to be raised and lowered. These blocks have lugs g g, Fig. 3, which slide in grooves in the post G and frame A. The blocks D D1 are connected, by pivots l1. h, with a rock-lever, F, and the blocks D2 D3in the same manner, with a corresponding rocklever, F; These two rock-levers are attached to the frame by pivots i z', which form the fulcrums, and at the top they are connected by Va pivoted rod, G.

By throwing the primary lever F in one direction or the other it will be seen that both sets of blocks will be correspondingly moved, the upper block D and lower block D3 being moved in coincidence against the cylinders B B at one stroke, and the upper block D2 and lower block Dl at the other stroke. This movement of the levers may be produced either by a knob, H, attached to the rod G, which is shifted by hand at each reciprocation of the cylinders, or by means of stops H H attached to disks I I, secured by'set-screws to the shaft J, which runs through the hollow post O. In the lattercase a rock-arm, K, is' used, pivoted at Z to the post, the lower end being pivoted at m to the lever F, while the upper end projects in such a manner as to be struck by the stops H when they come around. The cams E E are set in reverse positions on each block, and so arranged as to carry the shoulders f of the needles up to catch the thread and downto form the stitch as the cylinders pass in one direction or the other,

L L are cam-plates, pivoted at n to the frame, and having arms L' L', which extend downward and have small tubes o o at their ends through which the threads p p pass, as shown most clearly in Fig. 9. The cam-plates cross each other and have slots g q, in which iits a stem, M, attached to the rod G. As the said rod is thrown in one direction or the other, as before described, the stem, sliding in the slots, causes the cam-plate, and consequently their arms L' L', to cross each other, thus, also, crossing the threads. The object of this will be explained in describing the operation of the machine. N is a pressure-foot, which lies over the work and directly in the top of the space b. It is made concentric with the slot b, and of suitable extent to bear the whole length of the work. It is attached to a loop, which extends up over the frame, and is secured by a set-screw, r, Fig. 1, by which it may be adjusted higher or lower, or its angle changed.

' The presser-foot not only serves to keep the work in place by pressing down-upon it, but it also-prevents the fabric from being raised in the upward movement of the needles, and also to properly divide the two layers or sides of the fabric, and prevent the threads from interfering with each other.

l? P are guide-plates, also made concentric with the cylinders, and lying directly over their upper ends, and inclosing the presser between them. They serve the purpose of keeping the threads in place as the cylinders pass around, and prevent them from catching. They also present them properly to the needles. Q Q are take-ups, consisting of wire lengths turning on a pivot, s, and retained under tension by the reacting springs t t. The threads at the rear ends pass through loops u u, and at the front through spring-hooks o QJ, and thence proceed to the needles, as before described. These devices serve to retain the threads straigl'it, and take up the slack at the reversal of the motion.

The operation of the machine is as follows: The threads being adjusted in place, and the irst row of stitches heilig formed, the cylinders are then moved to make the stroke in one direction. In this action one set of short needles, d, of one cylinder, and one set of long needles, d3, of the other cylinder, act in conjunction to catch the two threads and draw them down to form the stitches. As these needles rest only in every other groove of their respective cylinders, and act only alternately, a stitch is taken only at every other needle, the intermediate needles being dormant, but holding their stitches during the action in one direction. The two threads are of different colors, for instance, white and blue, and therefore while one color is being knit in on one side, the other color is being knit in on the other side. As soon as the stroke is complete in one direction, the lever F is operated, which changes the position of the cams E E, and also crosses the threads by the crossing of the cam-plates L L, as before described. The reverse motion is then given to the cylinders, which knits the two threads upon the opposite sides, by the operation of the second sets of needles, while the first remain still.

The work is accomplished in this alternate manner, and the fabric is knit of double thickness, and in stripes of alternate colors running lengthwise. If desired, the work may all be knit in one color.

What I claim as the invention of the said HENRY PEAsE isl. The combination, in a knitting-machine,

of the two needle-cylinders B B, with two corl responding sets of long and short needles, d d1 d2 d3, arranged in alternate grooves of the cylinders, the needles of each set-alternating in action with each other, and the short ncedles of one set acting in conjunction with thelong needles of the other set. and vice versa, to produce a fabric of double thickness, as herein specified.

2. The combination, with the needle-cylinders B B, of the quadruple cam-blocks D l)1 D2 D3, carrying the camsE E, and arranged to be shifted in opposite pairs by the movement of a lever, so as to operate in connection with the alternate sets of needles, in the manner and for the purpose specified. l

3. The combination, with the shifting camblocks D Dl D2 D3, ofthe parallel rock-levers F F', rock-arm K, and stops lH' H', as and for the purpose specified. p

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CORNELIA E. PEASE, Administratrix of the estate of Henry Pease.

Witnesses:

R. F. OsGooD, E. B. SCOTT. 

